Pune civic body recovers Rs.560 crore property tax

Pune, March 3 (IANS) Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) property tax department has recovered Rs.560 crore between April 2012 and February 2013 of fiscal 2012-13, an official said here Sunday.

According to the official, it is for the first time that the civic body was able to recover so much tax in less than a year. "However, this is what we have recovered till Feb 28. We are yet to recover another Rs.500 crore as property tax," he told IANS.

The official said that in order to recover the property tax on time, the department formed special squads for the purpose this year. It has also attached properties of those who had not paid their taxes despite repeated reminders.

"We also offered discounts for those who pay their property taxes in the first two months. We offer 10 percent discount if the tax is Rs.25,000 or less, while a 5 percent discount is offered if the amount is more than Rs.25,00 for those who pay their taxes before May 31," the official said.

According to an estimate by the civic body, there are around six lakh residential properties and 75,000 non-residential properties within the city limits. Also, there are around 24,000 open plots in the city, which also come under the purview of the Pune Municipal Corporation.